Cubs To Call-Up Chris Carpenter

Chris Carpenter will soon be a member of the Chicago Cubs. Yes, the St Louis Cardinals have traded….Sorry, I could not resist. No, the Cubs have not acquired Chris Carpenter from the Cardinals. Instead, the Cubs will call up their Chris Carpenter, who is one their top pitching prospects in their farm system.

Citing a depleted bullpen, sources told ESPN Chicago’s Bruce Levine that the Cubs plan to call-up Carpenter from Double-A Tennessee. No corresponding move has been announced yet. Casey Coleman was called up this past weekend to add a fresh arm to the bullpen, but with the latest injury to Kerry Wood it is no surprise that the Cubs opted to add more depth to the bullpen. Though of all the pitchers the Cubs could have promoted, they opted for their third best prospect in their system. Despite any indication that Carpenter is ready for such a promotion.

Carpenter started the season with the Triple A-Iowa club, but struggled with his command, resulting in a demotion to Tennessee. With the I-Cubs to begin the season, Carpenter posted a 6.41 ERA while walking 17 batters and striking out 20. But Carpenter regained his top form when he was sent down to Tennessee, as he posted a 4.38 ERA while only walking 4 batters and having an opponents batting average of .227. The Cubs probably took Carpenter’s success at the Double A level into consideration when deciding whether or not to call him up to the Major League club. Carpenter is the second player this season making the jump from Double A directly to the Major Leagues for the Cubs.

Though, the call-up is a bit puzzling. Because if the Cubs called up Carpenter for the sole purpose of adding a fresh arm to a depleted bullpen, then the move does make sense. If that is the case, the Cubs should have called up one of the experienced pitchers they have on the Triple A level. For instance pitchers like Scott Maine or Marcos Mateo would have made more sense seeing as they are already on the 40 man roster. Instead the Cubs went with Carpenter, who was not on the 40 man roster. Much like the Cubs made a bad decision by calling up D.J. LeMahieu, they face the same criticism for calling up Carpenter. If Carpenter is not going to pitch regularly at the Major League level–from all indications, he probably won’t–then the Cubs would be once again mishandling one of their prospects.

Notes

• The Cubs activated Reed Johnson from the disabled list and optioned Tyler Colvin down to Iowa.